2005 promises to be another active year for international residential
markets with the factors driving buyer demand remaining and new markets
opening up for buyers in emerging locations, according to a new report
by Knight Frank.

The International Residential Property Review details the key markets
where demand and interest from overseas buyers is greatest. Key objective
of the Review is to build up data over the years, so that the reader
may glean an accurate view and measured perspective of the growth or
otherwise of different markets. According to Knight Frank, ownership
of second homes abroad by GB households has increased by an average
of at least 10% per annum over the past 10 years - a rate that the agent
believes is sustainable over the coming decade. As new destinations
are opened up, for example the recent EU entrants and those that aspire
to entry in the near future, so new opportunities will present themselves.
One indication of the scale of future buyer demand can be gleaned from
tourist statistics. Using Great Britain as an example, the number of
British overseas tourist visits totalled 17.5 million in 1980 - by 2003
this figure had more than tripled to reach 61.4 million. Those same
tourists spent £2,738 million in 1980 and £28,893 million
in 2003 - more than a 10-fold increase. Clearly not all tourists will
buy overseas property, however according to UK government data, some
2.8 million people emigrated from the UK in the decade to 2002, the
majority of them to countries within Europe.

Existing second home owners will also remain an important source of
new demand either by upgrading property requirements in the same location
or by moving to new markets.

On the development side, there is likely to be an increase in hotel-related
residential schemes with major brands such Four Seasons, Starwood and
Marriott increasingly recognising the opportunity to capitalise on the
rising demand for residential property with service in holiday locations
around the globe. The quality of construction and technical specification
are also improving to match buyer expectations. Markets are responding
to the influx of foreign buyers by improving local infrastructure provision.

Finally, although preferred locations for European second home purchasers
are traditionally Spain and France as the more mature markets have become
increasingly popular and expensive, buyers have sought new locations
offering greater value for money and which are less developed.

The growth in the availability and destinations of international air
flights has facilitated buyers ability to look further afield
in areas such as USA (in particular, Florida), and the Caribbean. Other
non-European countries, such as South Africa, Canada and Australia,
for example, account for nearly one fifth of overseas second homes owned
by UK households.

Central Europe has become more popular in recent years, with Croatia
and Bulgaria joining Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic as target
locations. More recently, new developments in other locations such as
Dubai and Morocco have attracted strong international interest.

To read the full report, log on to www.knightfrank.co.uk and search
under the research reports section.